ISU study connects violent TV/video games with elementary school
aggression

AMES, Iowa -- A study led by Iowa State University researchers of 1,370
elementary school children found that those who consume high amounts of both
television violence and violent video games are nearly twice as likely to
engage in physically aggressive behavior as those children who consume
little or no violent media content.

Douglas Gentile, assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State
University and director of research for the Minneapolis-based National
Institute on Media and the Family, joined with ISU Associate Professor of
Health and Human Performance

Joe Eisenmann, along with Institute researchers David Walsh and Randi
Callahan on the research. They presented a study titled "Violent TV and
video game exposure as risk factors for aggressive behavior among elementary
school children," which they presented at last week's XVII Biennial Meeting
of the International Society for Research on Aggression in Minneapolis.

"This is significant for two reasons -- first, these real-life aggressive
behaviors are being witnessed by teachers in the classroom, and are
therefore in a context that is critical for children's long-term outcomes,"
said Gentile. "Second, we find that both violent TV and video games are
independent risk factors for aggressive behavior. In a broader context,
children who have multiple risk factors for being aggressive (such as media
violence or having been in fights previously), and fewer protective factors
(such as parental monitoring of children's media), are in fact at a much
higher likelihood to exhibit aggressive behaviors in the classroom."

The methodology

The study included 435 third-, 448 fourth-, and 427 fifth-grade children,
their parents and teachers. Families were recruited from two school
districts in Minnesota (772) and Iowa (590) respectively. Approximately an
equal number of male (641) and female (727) children participated, with an
average mean age of 9.6 years.

Researchers had children complete a self-report of media consumption
habits measuring violence exposure on TV and video games; screen time with
TV, video games, and computer; adult involvement in media; and participation
in physical fights. Parents completed a survey measuring their involvement
in media; and their child's media habits, grades, diet and activity. Family
demographic information was also gathered from parents, including their
income and education levels. The children's teachers completed a survey
measuring children's physical aggression, relational aggression, pro-social
behavior, victimization, attention problems, and grades.

"Teachers reported on two types of aggressive behaviors," said Gentile.
"One was physical aggression, which is any attempt to cause harm through
physical means -- so hitting, kicking, or the threat of physical harm. The
other was relational aggression, which is the intent to cause harm by
threatening or damaging the relationships a person has. So for example,
saying 'I'm having a party and you can't come,' or excluding people, or
spreading rumors about them so other people don't like them as well."

"We also looked at pro-social behavior -- helping behavior, caring about
other people's feelings -- and we found that overall media violence exposure
reduces that," he said.

Aggression probability on the rise

Analyses found that children who consume high amounts of both violent TV
and video games had a 32 percent probability of exhibiting physically
aggressive behavior, compared to 18 percent for children who consumed low
amounts. The probability increases by combining risk factors -- going from
25 and 27 percent for exclusive high consumption of either violent TV or
video games respectively, to 32 percent for high consumption of both. If
parents are also uninvolved in children's media habits, the physical
aggression probability increases to 42 percent. That percentage jumps
dramatically for children who have even more risk factors.

"Theoretically, the kid who is most likely to exhibit aggressive behavior
would be a boy, who has reported being in fights, who consumes lots of
violent video games and lots of violent television, and whose parents do not
monitor what he watches," said Gentile. "If I look at a kid with that
profile, I can tell you that he's 60 percent likely to be a highly
physically aggressive kid, which is a 10 times increase over the kids with
the opposite profile."

"We are not saying that media violence is the only risk factor for
aggression, or even the most important one, only that it is a significant
one. The difference between media violence and almost all the other risk
factors for aggression is that it is the risk factor that is easily
controlled. And our study shows that having parents monitor the amount and
content of media their children consume is a powerful protective factor for
children."

The researchers plan to author a paper for a professional journal about
their findings.

Gentile also joined with Iowa State Distinguished Professor of Psychology
Craig Anderson and graduate student Katherine Buckley to co-author a
forthcoming Oxford University press book titled "Violent Video Game Effects
on Children and Adolescents."

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Douglas Gentile

Quote

"This is significant for two reasons -- first, these real-life aggressive
behaviors are being witnessed by teachers in the classroom, and are
therefore in a context that is critical for children's long-term outcomes. Second, we find that both violent TV and video games are
independent risk factors for aggressive behavior. In a broader context,
children who have multiple risk factors for being aggressive (such as media
violence or having been in fights previously), and fewer protective factors
(such as parental monitoring of children's media), are in fact at a much
higher likelihood to exhibit aggressive behaviors in the classroom."